Non-Gun-Owners, Do You Have A Bat?

My pokey-wokey no-stabby-wabby batty-watty has razor wire wrapped around it so the baddy-maddies don't grab it when I'm shoving the sharp end I carved into their chests like a vampire stake.

Good advice, op.

Thanks!

My gun is by my bed.

I have cameras around my property which alert my cell phone when someone/thing approaches.

No one is safe here in Deplorable Haven, FL -- one must be prepared!

I live in a "dangerous" east coast city and never once have desired to defend myself with a weapon of any sort.

I have switchblades stuck to various things with magnets (my bed etc), I have a tazer, bear spray and now a pitbull.

I have a bat and large heavy BB pistol that looks real. I'm not scared.

Pepper spray, and I never leave home without it, especially if taking the NYC subway.

Is pepper spray legal, R7?

Gun in the nightstand. It gets locked up when the cousins kids visit.

No I keep a fire extinguisher next to my bed and if an intruder comes in I will blast them in the eyes with the spray and once it’s empty, swing it and hit ‘em in the chin.

Hot tip. I’ve found most people haven’t thought of this when I tell them.

Yes, R7, as long as it is bought in the state and used for self-defense. Scroll down on the link below for a list of places in NYC that you can buy it.

After being mugged, harassed and assaulted in the past and a Daniel Penny type incident on the A train this summer, I always have it on me when taking the subway or going outside my very safe neighborhood.

I keep the nuclear codes in the nightstand inside my special edition copy of Hitler's 'My New Order.'

[quote]large heavy BB pistol that looks real

Yup, it looks real -- like a real BB pistol.

OP- The only bat I have is the one between my legs 😏

I only have my panic room.

Now they're asking our means of self-protection.

Beware of trolls and their seemingly innocuous polls.

I have a BB gun that looks like a handgun.

Also, my house looks very not rich.

Those are my defenses.

I have a machete and mace hanging in the foyer

Antique ice axe and antique maul.

When the need arises.

I think most born and bred DLers have bats, in the metaphorical sense.

The sock thing a great idea-live and learn.

We have two pit mixes, they wouldn't dare, it doesn't help with stray bullets though.

I have two cats.

They don't come when called.

I prefer to hug it out

OP here…

Today, I found that I went from cutesy entertainment twerp to fantasist vengeance moron very quickly in this thread and I apologize.

Still. Not to over prepare, but if brown shirt shit happens, I have a bat with a sock on it.

^ What's the point of the sock on the bat?

I've asked this before ... is there some reason so many British movies/TV shows/books feature baseball bats as a weapon? I know guns are much less prevalent, but why would baseball bats be sold in the UK when so few people play the sport?

R27? Keeps the perp from grabbing the end of the bat, yanking it away from you, and using it on [bold]you[/bold]. Sock will slip off keeping the asshole from grabbing the end of the bat.

Get it?

r28 you are aware that handguns are prohibited there, and possession of a gun has to be shown to be needed/necessary.

So, it would make sense that movies/tv shows/books feature very few guns.

I am no longer taking shit. I have been a victim of horrendous violence and I am done. I avoid these people when I can. I carry pepper spray now.

R29 sock will slip off, then perp will grab bat and beat you to death.

I am in LA, a 41 yo man, and got two hands.

Sometimes growing up in inner city public schools has its advantages.

No OP, I have a large dog.

r30 You missed the point. I know guns are not available in the UK -- my question was -- why BASEBALL bats when baseball is not a common pastime? Who sells them, and why -- there are obviously other types of non-lethal weapons available.

I keep a shiv close but my cellmate has pledged my protection, for "favors." I keep up my end. Of the bargain.

r35 - what do YOU think they should use? Swords? Machetes? Nunchucks?

What would be the "appropriate" UK weapon?

I have a heavily scratched Original Broadway Cast Album of 'Follies' that constantly skips when played. Its on a record player hooked up to a smart plug. Whenever I think I hear a prowler, I yell, "Alexa - play Follies!" The constant skipping will be enough to send any malcontent shrieking away in abject horror.

I also think of Alexis Smith whenever I say the word, "Alexa."

I don't have a bat but I've been meaning to get one. Just two weeks ago someone was murdered in front of my house and tried to come in seeking help luckily after I heard the first gunshot I locked the door. Unfortunately for the poor kid his killer was still right after him and had he gotten in my house so would have the gunman. I did grab one of my dad's antique guns to use as a weapon but now I definitely want to have a baseball bat.

We have gun control where I live. Along with a level of crime where these kinds of defenses aren’t required.

Oh, and we don’t play baseball on the whole, so there’s that. Where would I buy a bat?

I’m more concerned about the occasional carpet python or red bellied black snake slithering into my house at this time of year. Always pull the bedding back before jumping into the sack. Oh, and turn the light on and check the toilet before sitting down - they’ve been known to come up the pipes. Then there are the funnel web spiders which I only recently discovered can live under water so always check the pool before diving in.

But it’s a paradise, mostly!

I have a fireplace.

All you lads should be putting a sock on your bat!

r40 is clearly Australian

I have always found it odd that it's the rural, small town Americans who feel so scared (of what? Their own shadow?) that they need these high-powered assault weapons in order to feel safe.

Meanwhile, many of us who have actually lived in large urban cities our whole lives, feel no such compulsion.

completely agree, r44.

and I've lived in gang territory when i was in my late 20s, too.

Well spotted R43!

r40 / r46 - I can somewhat commiserate. I grew up in a part of San Diego county (CA) that was semi-desert/arid and we needed to pull back the covers to make sure there weren't scorpions in bed. Sometimes there were; better safe than sorry.

You also had to be careful walking around the yard because there were rattlers and sometimes you might actually step on one. It happened often at my house growing up. Also, I bet you can relate to finding snakes hanging in trees. And black widow spiders galore.

It was a bit "wild west" where I lived.

I’m weirdly ok with the brown, taipan, eastern brown, copperhead and red bellied black snakes - even though these are the ones that can kill a human. I just stomp my feet if in a dodgy area and, as they are quite timid unless threatened, they move away quickly.

It’s the pythons that make me gag, especially when they unhinge their jaws and swallow things like bush pigs and large kangaroos whole. They are much slower to move and pretty relaxed with humans. My sister lives in a suburban street where there is a huge carpet python called Mary who lives in peoples’ rooftops, moving from house to house and occasionally has loud sex during mating season. That I could not live with. Below is an example (and apologies for going off topic but DL is allegedly global and we all have our threats to deal with).

I protect myself and my premises with thoughts and prayers, which all Republicans and Christians claim works against cancer, tornados, hurricanes, starvation, floods, gun violence, and piles.

Fucking yikes, r48

yes. i knew a gym teacher who kept one in h7is office im case of active shooter

what is an "h7is office"

I like the idea of the bat with a sock. I live near the end of cul-de-sac that drops off into a very steep cliff, so we don't get too many unintended visitors. Furthermore, I live in one of those ridiculous split-level houses where I have to back up the front stairs to admit visitors, so that in itself would be off-putting to a would-be thief. But one never knows what the future will bring. I also have one of those thick magnetic strips hidden on the side of the refrigerator that can't be seen by visitors. On it I have 5 huge cleavers of various thicknesses and degrees of sharpness. In my mind, I always picture myself going to the kitchen and throwing them at a hostile intruder like those carnival sword-throwing acts.

If America is so great, then why do we need guns to defend ourselves? Shouldn’t it be inherently safe enough that it isn’t a concern?

r54 so right. But no, we have so many people that think that having a gun is a right. Thus, we have so many gun-related deaths/murders.

Um, R55 not to get querelous but don’t so many people think that having a gun is a right, because it is? 2nd amendment and all that.

It shouldn't be, r56, because people have no real reason to use them. Most countries get along without them just fine.

the 2nd amendment is outdated and doesn't fit anymore because people in this country abuse it. Death/murder rates back that up.

I don’t disagree, R57! I was being disingenuous - I’m not American, so the 2nd amendment has always done my head in. When I heard Kamala Harris talking about how she and Doug have guns and what a good shot she is I almost fell off my chair and assumed that that was a campaign ending moment but it didn’t even raise a blip.

I was friends with a woman in college who used to sleep with a large knife under her pillow. She explained that if she's ever attacked at night, she wouldn't have time to dig around and find something to protect herself. It needed to be accessible quickly. I thought it was so strange.

Over the years, I've met and read about many women who also sleep with a knife under their pillows. Apparently, it's not uncommon. Back then, I guess people just didn't admit to it for fear of getting strange looks - the kind I gave my friend when she told me about it.

r58, thank you for the explanation. I'm American, have lived in plenty of dangerous places, and don't feel the need to own a gun for protection.

They cause more death and destruction than they (obviously) prevent.

Unfortunately, over half our country doesn't agree and feels this is a right/need.

I'm not one of them, and I know other friends/family that feel the same. It's shameful, given the school shootings, murders, suicides, etc.

The USA is quite provincial and can't seem to see past its...well...PAST. Times fucking change. Get with the program.

And presumably any POTUS candidate who ran on a platform including repeal of the 2nd amendment would get slaughtered at the polling booth, so you guys guys are stuck with guns forever?

Pretty much.

i really wish i could leave here, but at 55 (about to be 56) and no real wealth, i'm stuck here. I also have no extremely valuable employment skills (other than management/nonprofit).

it sucks because i really wish to be almost anywhere else BUT here now.

It's impossible unless I marry someone and that's not happening.

[quote] I have switchblades stuck to various things with magnets (my bed etc), I have a tazer, bear spray and now a pitbull.

This is very white woman that’s convinced she’s getting trafficked at Target.

Yes a bat and a taser. My brother is onto me to get a gun, but I'm afraid to have one, even though our dad had guns and we each had one as teenagers. We'd go target practicing a lot with our dad. I've got young grandkids here all the time and I'm afraid to have one in the house.

The more of these replies that I read the more that I realise that the USA is a country that I can now barely recognise, and I’ve been living/visiting there for over thirty years.

No judgement, just an observation.

Why? What makes you say that R66?

r66 i was born here and it feels like a fucking foreign country to me.

I'm less concerned about being attacked in my home as I am getting attacked on the street these days.

People are frequently getting attacked while simply walking down the street.

Now, if someone has a good suggestion for a reasonable portable and LEGAL weapon to protect yourself while walking around and running errands, I'd be very interested. However, most weapons are illegal to carry around with you.

OP, I've never heard the sock on bat trick! Pretty genius

I've got an old golf club near the bedroom door and pepper spray. Never thought about "poking not swinging" but now I will - and I'll find a long sock

Thanks OP!!

I'm assuming that yours is a rhetorical question, R67.

If not, all that I can say is that in all my time in the USA I've never encountered on a personal level some of the stuff regarding self defense measures that I've read upthread.

And just anticipating the inevitable "prove it!" from some triggered and defensive posters, my sample is of course skewed - travelling as a kid with family in the sixties and seventies to Hawaii, California and Utah (beach, family and skiing) but more importantly for work and leisure as an adult - eighties onwards - Northern California (Silicon Valley, LA), Chicago, New York City and Massachusetts (Boston and its suburbs).

Oh and I'm Australian - so those of you who get your kicks with this can now pile on about racism, sexism etc while I stifle a yawn.

As I said above, R67, no criticism, just an observation.

Has anyone used or even seen a Byrna? I just read about it in the Vanity Fair Cormac McCarthy article. Apparently, they are legal in all 50 states.

R71, I was just curious. Yes, a rhetorical question. Growing up in the 70s in Chicago, things do feel differently. Maybe it's partly my perception, being older now. I do remember some violence back then, but as someone said upthread, people getting attacked on the street a lot now.

Holy shit, OP, I never heard of that before but I'll do that.

Wow, R40, you really have to check for snakes all the time? Omg, one of my worst nightmares are snakes.

Holy shit R48. There's no way I could deal with that. They are absolutely horrifying whenever I've seen footage of them eating some huge animal. A snake called " Mary" that has loud sex ( I didn't know they could make sounds like that), and travels from rooftops to rooftops. What do they sound like?

Yep, R59. When I moved out on my own, my dad told me to do that. The apt I moved to was notorious for people breaking in. Then it did happen to me. I was asleep on the couch, though. The neighbors heard him getting in my bedroom window and he ran off. If I'd been in my bed and he came in I would have used it.

I find that my witty repartee is enough to deescalate any situation.

A better question is how unsafe do you all feel?

I have an older gentleman friend who locks his door every time he leaves his home to go take out the trash. Like really, in those 1 to 2 minutes, is somebody going to magically swoop in out of nowhere and start stealing stuff? It must he a force of habit.

The acid moat takes care of most of my issues.

R79, it’s not “stuff’ we worry about; It’s assault. I am poor and I live in an urban environment with a variety of undiagnosed people.

I was punched in the jaw tonight; a young man took the word of some crazy woman that I was stalking her. He demanded I stay away from her. It was the first time I saw her. It turns out she’s made this claim against other residents.

So, I keep a bat and I lock my door when I walk to the trash chute.

You dog owners are DE---LUSIONAL. In real life, dogs head for the door.

R8

Barking dogs are a deterrent to keep burglars out to begin with - they’ll move on to a quieter house.

Wishful thinking, barking dogs are so common no one pays attention or fears them. You know how burglars shut up a barking dog? Throw them a steak.

There are dogs who bark constantly in my neighborhood while on walks, from their fenced yards, or from their homes. I would never think they're barking at an intruder; they bark at birds, at people out for walks on the street, at people in the backyard next to them, other dogs, clouds...